


young and prideful

by orphan_account



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, Mutant Powers, Smut, ill tag as i go along, mentions of other people - Freeform, the mutant!au tht god needs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2019-03-10 01:28:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13493950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: mutants battle endlessly for their freedom. it's unfair. it's cruel.maybe the mutant underground, fueled by 9 persistent girls, can bring a change to the world's ignorance.





	young and prideful

**Author's Note:**

> OKAY HI there's smut in this chapter you've been warned. also this is un-beta'd. idk how ill update this but i will. love you!!

Maybe, just maybe, Chaeyoung shouldn't be here.

However, the mural in front of her begged to differ, the spray paint coating her hands a sight she loved to see. She drops the spray cans from her grip, lets them clatter onto the cement next to her bare feet. Admires her work for once in her life because, who knows when the cops will show up? Especially when she heard some elderly woman earlier making a call about a "spider-man appearing miscreant". Spider-man, her ass. Miscreant, though, was a title she was bound to accept sooner or later.

Chaeyoung could smell the burning rubber of the tires before the sirens pierced her eardrums, red and blue and white blinding her momentarily. Her eyes take in once last glance of the wall in front of her, the shabby apartment building she used to live in, the wet paint that read MUTANT RIGHTS NOW in bold, vibrant letters. Chaeyoung grins, abnormally large top canine teeth sticking out and catching the light of the police car's lights. She wishes that the pride she has in herself could last longer. The intruders have other ideas.

"Stop! Stay right where you are. Hands behind your head!" The cop shouts, barely stepping out of his car. Chaeyoung rolls her eyes, grin still perfectly evident, whisks her hand in front of her face. For a moment, the cop thinks her eyes go completely white. For a moment, he was right.

Her hand briskly cuts through the air, a gust of wind hitting the offending police officer and causing him to shield his face. _Dumbass._ Her hand cuts downward when she moves again, a thick blanket of fog covering the street. She whips herself around the corner of the apartment building and runs into the alley, bounding across the pavement. Her fingernails slowly elongate as she nears the wall looming over her, 3-inch claws begging to dig into something, aching for her to be running on all fours. She fights the primal urge, curses herself for usually being so easily overcome by her impulses to the point where they feel necessary, then leaps straight into the cement wall.

Chaeyoung's claws sink into the building, feet scrabbling for purchase as she forces herself to climb. Her arms quickly become sore as all her strength relies on the talons embedded in her fingers, on the raw power she barely possesses. _If only Jihyo hadn't rejected the idea of getting a weight room, maybe then I'd be less useless and she wouldn't worry half as much._

She breaches the top of the building soon enough, resorts to massaging her biceps as she tunes into the sirens getting drowned out as they leave the immediate perimeter. She sighs, angry at herself for alerting that elderly woman at all, for causing yet another disruption in the city. If Jihyo finds out about it, or Jeongyeon, or Mina, she knows they'll have her head. She's not really supposed to leave the underground in the first place, let alone to go and act like some pent up teenager whenever she feels like it.

" _Fuck._ " Chaeyoung mutters, swinging her legs out over the ledge, kicking them idly in frustration. She hopes that the cop doesn't report anything, that it doesn't make local or national news, that Nayeon doesn't get wind of it from whoever is monitoring police reports and news updates. As if the public needed another reason to hate on mutants. As if the underground inhabitants needed another reason to believe she's just some runaway fuck up.

She reaches into her pocket to grab the burner phone she bought, becomes even more frustrated when she realizes it isn't there. She hunches over the ledge, peers down to see a black mess on the pavement floor, crumpled and tangled.

"Yeah, sure. Why not. Of course." She says, calm as she sits herself back down on the ledge.

Then, she screams.

###### 

###### 

"You've reached the house of unrecognized talent," Tzuyu spoke, balancing her phone between her shoulder and her ear, quickly scanning the computer screen before her, "what went wrong this time, Chaeyoung?"

" _I'm calling you off a payphone, how do you know something's wrong? How do you even know it's me?_ "

Tzuyu laughs quietly, standing up to gaze out the window next to her. They didn't have many, but this one had a clear view out the front of the mutant underground's decaying building, and she liked the simplicity of the outlandish appearing forest mass that was spread before it.

"One, you never call unless something is wrong. You hate calling people, Chae." She hears a scoff on the other end of the line, smiles to herself as she presses forward. "Two, you said you're using a payphone. You almost always have a burner. Then there's the fact that no one else has this number, so, y'know."

" _When I get back, I'm going to wipe the shit eating grin off your face, Chou Tzuyu. But I need a favor._ " Tzuyu sighs, watches as a couple of the younger kids rush outside, probably fresh out of nightly combat training with Momo. One of the kids slips and falls backward directly into a body that wasn't there a second ago. She shakes her head, wishes that they'd be more careful. The underground doesn't have all the medical supplies in the world, and they sure as hell don't have any mutants around to use their healing powers for such trivial things.

"I'm listening."

" _Can you keep a close eye on the news and police reports? I had a run in, nothing serious, but I, uh - don't want some people breathing down my neck._ " Tzuyu can feel the headache coming on, can feel the headache Chaeyoung would deal with if the resident moms were to crack down on her, _again._

"Chae, I can't just-"

" _Please? I will get down on my knees and beg you if I have to, God help me._ " Her eyes roll back into her head, mad at herself for the way she would absolutely bend backwards for this girl with ridiculously cute cat teeth.

"Yeah, okay, I won't alert anyone," she says softly, watching as the kids outside play giddily with each other, wishes her and Chaeyoung were still that oblivious, "just get back here, you asshole." There's a squeal on the other end and she has to momentarily move her head away from the receiver. A smile, incredibly small, spreads itself fondly across her lips.

"Yeah, of course, okay! Love you!" She can hear the line crackle, and at the same time her heart skips a couple beats. Her face is warm as she sets her phone down, gaze returning to the kids messing around outside.

"Love you, too."

###### 

###### 

"You know I can hear everything you're thinking, right?" She asks, her arms and back bracing herself against the railing behind her. The night sky is beautiful tonight, full moon glistening, stars spattered across the darkness. She would deem it beautiful, but she's seen the exact same thing in Sana's eyes, only brighter and with more complex constellations.

"Mm." Sana replies, head down as her finger traces circles into the concrete next to her knee. Her head turns upwards, eyes meet Mina's, doesn't even act surprised when she's blinded by a glowing teal instead of her usual melted brown irises.

"You're extremely loud. Louder than Nayeon. I never thought that was possible," she muses, staring into Sana's eyes when she giggles because _god, she's so beautiful it burns,_ "why don't you speak out loud? Your voice is more pleasant than your jumbled thoughts."

"If I did that, then you wouldn't be confronting me." She says, voice nothing but tempting as she stands, shrugging her jacket off her shoulders and allowing the wind to hit her bare arms. The crop top she's wearing should be illegal, no one should be able to flaunt their toned arms and stomach like that. At least, not while Mina's reading their cloudy, needy mind. (she can sense her mind getting cloudy and needy, too. she's gonna lose it.)

"And if I didn't make you read my mind, then you wouldn't be hearing every single, little, dirty thing going through it," she whispers, hot breath on Mina's ear making her squirm, eyes still blazing blue as they trail Sana's every movement, "now you're all frustrated. Not to mention adorable."

Her lips ghost Mina's ear and she shivers because all of Sana's thoughts are _her_. It's distracting, to say the least, and she finds herself melding far too easily into Sana's wishes. Mina pushes Sana's shoulders away with her hands, elbows still resting against the railing. Sana doesn't budge, however, only moves her face to where Mina's now brown eyes can melt her with a single look.

"You're a piece of shit, Minatozaki." Mina swears the way Sana's eyes roam up and down her figure is venomous, almost scalding. The way her left hand cradles Mina's face is repulsive. Especially because they're _outside_ , and Mina can't resist her, even now when her right hand is dangerously close to Mina's cheek, a flame dancing in the palm of it.

"You're playing with fire, Minari," she purrs, voice low and seductive and - Christ, Mina's going to have a heart attack right here on the underground's roof - she giggles, mouth almost on Mina's, slowly inching closer.

The desire in Mina's gut isn't going to go away, driving her lips to close the distance and fit into Sana's perfectly. The first kiss is sweet, soft, but then they both can't stand the pace, and they know they're at risk of being caught. Sana makes quick work of Mina's sweatpants, teeth nipping at Mina's bottom lip, Mina's fingers pressing bruises into Sana's hipbones. She mentally curses herself for falling in love with this girl, for always acting like she hates her, for never being true or honest except when they're alone. She makes up for it by moving her mouth down, nudging aside Sana's crop top with her nose, and marking her collarbone with little to no care.

Sana doesn't plan to give up control and she suppresses her moan to a whimper when Mina bites down on the already purpling bruise resting just below her neck. Mina knows her too well, knows all her sensitive spots, knows what she does and doesn't like. She doesn't bother to stop her from marking her neck, quits trying to fight against the growls and moans in her throat, instead moves her heated hands downward past Mina's underwear.

Her fingers tease at Mina's folds through her soaked panties, and she marvels at the sounds that come from the mouth against her skin, at the tiny mewls that escape Mina and how she has to take a break from making sure Sana's neck is completely marred. Sana's fingers become as impatient as her and they slide past Mina's underwear, thumb rubbing hard circles into her clit, two fingers still running along her folds.

Mina whines and it's sinful, gorgeous, is equal to the entire world in Sana's ears. Mina's eyes stare up at her, pupils blown and dark and wanting. Sana doesn't bother to wait because yeah, maybe she can't read minds, but she knows Mina better than anyone and those eyes can tell her everything.

Three fingers enter Mina and she cries out, more than ready but still not anticipating it, her lips caught in a deep and sloppy kiss by Sana. Her fingers pump eagerly in and out of Mina and the sounds that Mina releases into her mouth should be made into a symphony, only for her ears. She swallows every groan and whimper that exits Mina's mouth, her body too concentrated on digging her hands into Sana's hips for her to properly form words or sentences.

"You're so pretty when you're bouncing on my fingers," Sana breathes, desperate to hear Mina without muffling her. Mina opens her mouth to reply and Sana speeds up, wanting to make it difficult for her to stutter, let alone speak clearly.

"Y-you're, ah! You're the w-worst." She falters when Sana curls her fingers, the pace relentless and her knuckles pounding into Mina. It's too much to handle, the grip on Sana's hips moving up to her shoulders, nails scratching possessively down her exposed back.

"Says the pretty girl clenching around my fingers."

Sana laughs only to realize how suddenly Mina's coming. Her laugh fades into a groan, seeing as the second Mina's orgasm flooded her senses, she bit down into Sana's shoulder, teeth breaking skin and a hopeless cry buried in the mark. Her hips rut against Sana fervently and Sana doesn't stop, whispering constant praise into Mina's ear as her pace becomes more frantic somehow, thumb rubbing harder circles into her clit. Mina's teeth dig in deeper than before when her second orgasm comes a minute after the first, Sana's hand freezing up with the rest of her body, Mina's leg wrapped tightly around her thigh.

Sana slowly withdraws her hand. Mina relies entirely on the railing to balance her as Sana cleans her up, tongue licking up all Mina has to offer, helping her shimmy back into her sweatpants when she's done. Sana lightly hits Mina's shoulder, placing her hand there as she pulls Mina in for another kiss, tender and slow. Sana pulls away first, smiling until she remembers why she hit her.

"You bit me! How am I gonna cover up teeth marks?" Mina's eyes widen and she glances at Sana's shoulder, flustered at the obvious claim she made.

"Shit, sorry. Are you okay?" It's genuine worry, because Mina's fucking in love with this girl, and couldn't fake her emotions if she wanted to. (that's a lie. she never treats sana the way she means to. stupid, stupid, stupid.)

"Besides this, yeah, I'll live. You?"

"Sore, sensitive. That's normal with you, though." It coaxes a gentle laugh from Sana and Mina thinks they're alright. That is until she catches sight of Sana's eyes again, the softness gone and replaced with a tinge of jealousy.

"With me? Are there others that don't leave you sore?" She asks, her voice barely above a hoarse whisper. She won't look at Mina now, her eyes tracing the roads carved by the stars in the sky.

"No. Sana, hey," she says, coming up behind the girl who'd stepped away from her, wrapping her arms tightly around her abdomen, "there's you and only you. Okay? You're my sun."

At that comment, Sana's skin glows, actually fucking _glows_ because she's the embodiment of flame, of light, of beauty. What did Mina expect? She knew how vulnerable Sana was to emotions, unable to truly control them or the elemental effect they had on her. Particularly when it came to hiding things from Mina, seeing as Mina could tell when she wasn't as bright or didn't quite shine the right way, or maybe she was too jumpy or red. Either way, Mina always knew. Mina knew Sana better than anyone in the underground. She hoped it'd stay that way.

"I'm, I - uh - I'm glad." She stumbles, her words unable to convey her affections. Mina giggles and whispers a "you're adorable when you're embarrassed", Sana pressing her warm lips to Mina's, initiating yet another soft and loving kiss that wrecks Mina's heartbeat. When Sana pulls away her eyes are cast downward and her cheeks are painted with the sunset, broad smile encompassing her cheeks. Mina is certain that her heart stops beating entirely. This girl, the sun, Minatozaki Sana, her girlfriend-not-girlfriend, is flustered in front of her. Mina only has one thought coursing through her head, the dark backdrop of the night unable to flood the fire in front of her.

_The sun is blushing._

###### 

###### 

Momo is sitting outside near the small pond Jeongyeon created a while back, surrounded by fur, back curled into a mountainous pile of wolves. They're content to just lie around her without making a noise or complaint. After all, she's one of them, one of the wild. She nestles herself back into a particular white wolf, warmth enveloping her body, mind distracted and eyes focused on the water in front of her.

Small waves ripple throughout the surface, her toes dipping into the pond, kicking about and allowing it to cool her overall body temperature a bit. Something inside her rib cage is ripping to get free, pounding harder than her heart, cracking against her bones. She doesn't fight it, no, instead Momo allows it to course over her, for this is what she needs right now.

Hot, sinewy muscle flows over her, black tar skin shielding it, two thick and coarse layers of fur blanketing that. The wind whips against her fur, barely breaking through to her core. Her ribs altered to accommodate her larger lungs and heart, paws big enough to rip apart a rabbit in one slash. Momo takes one deep breath and feels suddenly alive, previous thoughts of the noises on the roof exiting her mind, fog hazing her no more.

She bounds into the pond, water splashing all around her, droplets catching on her fur and seeping towards her skin. It's ice cold and refreshes her train of thought. She wants to rid of the sounds from the roof, of the job tomorrow, of the plan that she thinks will inevitably turn sour. She wants nothing more than to run away into the forest or to lay in the pond forever until her body freezes over. Momo wants to escape the responsibilities that tomorrow brings. She wants to never take the risk of failure, of success, of having to fight for her life any time she leaves the vicinity.

Her head delves into the water muzzle first and she can barely hear the back door open as she rolls around in the midst of the pond. It slams shut, startling the wolves on the outskirts and causing them to flee. All appear to be gone except for the white wolf who stares blankly at the girl heading straight for the water, trailing off into the woods after she makes herself known and sits far too close.

"Momo? Is that you?" The voice calls, beckoning over to the wolf making a sopping mess of her fur. Her ears and head shoot up, marble eyes staring directly at the woman dipping her toes into the wading water.

"Mm." The dark wolf replies, strafing through the water and shaking violently to rid herself of excess moisture. Momo sits herself before Jeongyeon, allowing her to run her hands through her coat and carefully draw out the remaining water with her fingertips. It's comforting to Momo, something that is so abnormal and ritualistic for them the night before anything big is planned, having Jeongyeon there to talk her through her bouts of worry. That and the fact that she appreciates the feel of Jeongyeon's hands gently running over her no matter what form she's in.

"Something's off with you, big bad wolf. Tell me." It's not a demand and it's not a request, either, Momo knows that. Their dynamic wasn't complicated: someone pushed and someone pulled. It was simple and safe, equal and forgiving, so no one ever felt pressured or uncomfortable in the other's presence. There was a certain familiarity that came with it. Momo appreciated that, too.

"It's just the job, you know that." Jeongyeon nods and ignores the fact that deep down she knows there's something else bothering Momo. She could try and hide it behind her night-before-jitters, but Jeongyeon knew better. It's the way she can't stand to be human for more than a couple hours, how she's mostly been outside for the past 2 months, and she rarely talks to anyone besides the kids in her combat training classes. Jeongyeon doesn't know what to do except let her deal with it on her own terms.

After all, if Jeongyeon pushes and Momo doesn't pull, then there's no point.

"Jeong, I don't know what's wrong with me, but," the eyes Jeongyeon had been staring into shift, suddenly human and dark and righteous, "I'm gonna figure it out. Nothing can stop that. And when that happens, I'll tell you first." Jeongyeon's heart and soul lift with those words, beaming at the girl opposite of her. She truly believes she may never get tired of Momo's hair as it curls around her shoulders, or her smile when she's radiant and determined as all hell. "Now c'mon, mess around with me!" Momo yells, giggling as she tugs Jeongyeon into the pond with her.

Jeongyeon laughs and strives her hands in an arcing movement, water flowing with her ministrations as half the pond lingers over Momo's head for a split second, crashing on top of her with the lowering of Jeongyeon's fingers. Momo can't even be mad because when Jeongyeon is controlling water, she's beautiful, ethereal. Momo continues to think that as she gets toppled by water, gets destroyed by the girl in front of her.

For half an hour, they play around like dumb teenagers, like they aren't constantly in hiding from the Sentinel Services and worse. For that amount of time, both of their hearts are at ease, and neither one can feel the ache residing low within their chests.

###### 

###### 

Jihyo paces back and forth through Nayeon's room/office, pure melted rage rushing through her veins. She can't comprehend the ability with which Nayeon was able to act so recklessly, so stupidly, the night before one of their biggest appearances. There's a tornado lodged in her throat and if Nayeon wasn't oblivious right now, she'd probably be rational about this.

"You got blackout drunk. Tonight. Of all the goddamn times, Nayeon," she whirls in place, slams the door to the room shut, locks it before she turns back to the girl in question, "if one of the kids notices, I will personally tear you apart." Nayeon, for her part, was barely able to pay any heed to Jihyo and her ability to yell at her whenever. Her hand waves flippantly, her eyelids heavy and voice heavier.

"Of course you will. Then you'll tear apart Chaeyoung, and Momo, and then probably fear himself, because lord knows Jackson doesn't work hard enough keeping people away from here without you chastising him." She slurs her words and Jihyo takes it with a grain of salt. _She's drunk,_ she reminds herself, attempting to calm her nerves.

"Nayeon, all I ask is that you be sober for a job. Is that too much?"

"Yeah, actually. I drink when I'm stressed. Guess what, Jihyo? This is putting stress on me, and I _drank._ Mind. Blown." She mimics her head exploding with her hands. Jihyo scowls, done with the girl before her, done with the way she can't take a damn thing seriously. Even if she wasn't drunk, Jihyo knew she'd still be this stubborn.

"Can't you just act your fucking age?" She doesn't mean to say it, certainly doesn't mean to scream it. Static runs over her arms and she's lightheaded, staring down Nayeon who in return snarls up at her.

"Don't talk to me about age, Park Jihyo." She states, close enough to Jihyo that she can smell the whiskey on her breath, can see how dilated her eyes are. "Let's talk fears. What about the dark?" The room around her is cast in shadows, Nayeon's body nowhere to be found. It's pitch black, far too dark. Jihyo's heart starts beating faster and she quells herself to regulate her breathing because _it's a trick, that's what she's good at, Nayeon's always been good at being fake._

"Not a fan? How about bugs?" A single light presents itself as a torch in the middle of the creeping shadows. Jihyo can hear them before her eyes can register them, millions of tiny staccato steps taken by cockroaches as they scatter towards the light. She looks down and notices them crawling all around her shoes and her legs, wills herself not to give in to the shock in her veins or the games Nayeon plays.

"Your breathing is labored." She swears Nayeon laughs next to her, but when she turns to face her, she's not there. "What if I give you your _worst_ fear? What if I-" The door to the room flies open, hitting a wall and causing both Jihyo and Nayeon to flinch. The illusions fade and the room is suddenly bathed in light. Tzuyu stands in the doorway, hand stuck out in front of her, holding still the green plasma that comes with her power.

"Jihyo, you're causing a storm outside, it's scaring people," she states, eyes sliding over to Nayeon, "and you. You're being an ass. Cut it out." Her hand whips toward herself and the door closes, leaving Jihyo and Nayeon alone again, although the illusions were gone.

"Get the fuck out of my room." Nayeon hisses, flopping down onto her bed and facing the wall. Jihyo swallows and hits the light switch on her way out, careful not to make a sound.

She's ashamed of her actions. She scared the _kids_ , the ones she was telling Nayeon not to set bad examples for. She did exactly what she was telling someone else not to do. _Hypocrite._

Jihyo finds a lone cot away from all the other people in the underground and allows herself to cry just this once.

###### 

###### 

There's regret coiled tightly in Nayeon's gut, unfurling its way towards her throat, towards her eyes. She can barely breathe, she's choked up, she's stupid, she's everything Jihyo called her. Nayeon knows its the alcohol talking, but everything fucking hurts, and she doesn't want to be this way. She doesn't want to hurt the people she cares about. She doesn't want to hurt Jihyo, of all people.

Yet that's exactly what she did. In her drunken stupor she stands up shakily, punches her fist through a wall she's sure is real. She has to make sure she isn't torturing herself with fake stories, fake lives. She has to know it's all _real._

Nayeon slips back into bed, dent left in the wall across from her, tears slipping down her cheeks. This time, she's pushed away one of the only people who would wipe them away.

###### 

###### 

Dahyun hates her job, her power, whoever decided she was important enough to take rank with the scouts. She can't even see in the dark, let alone force people to leave with her mind, or maybe create enough noise to scare away potential wanderers. All she can do as of this moment is fly because of the damned raven wings inked into her spine. She curses whatever God decided her mutation was based on tattoos. She also curses whoever is traipsing through the forest tonight, causing her to land (almost crash) in front of them and try to halt their movements.

"Whoa, hold on, wait a minute there buddy-" she says, expecting them to stop running for at least half a second, but they barrel forward until their hands collide with Dahyun's shoulders and knock her straight into the ground, effectively straddling her.

"Oh. Shit. Hey." Chaeyoung says, removing her hands from Dahyun's shoulders and retracting her claws. Dahyun can't see her yet she knows there's a blush on her cheeks, an apologetic smile on her lips. Chaeyoung reaches out to her and pulls her up, dusts her off a little for good measure.

Dahyun plainly looks upon Chaeyoung, at how disheveled her appearance is, how deep the bags beneath her eyes are. Her fingers move subconsciously, knuckles brushing underneath Chaeyoung's left eye, whispers of touches left on her skin. Her thumb slides across her cheekbone and rests at the end point of her jaw.

"What are you doing, Chae? Do you want to be murdered by the heads in charge?" Dahyun's voice is incredibly soft, hand leaving Chaeyoung's face a moment after she leans into the touch, her head not agreeing with her heart in any sense of the way. Chaeyoung's eyes have this steam in them that reminds her of mischief and adventure. Something that none of them could really afford to have, not anymore.

"No. Of course not. I just wanna feel..." she pauses, searching for the right word, staring at the dilapidated building behind Dahyun that she was now forced to call her home, "like a regular teenager, I guess. Not always paranoid or running from ignorant, powerful assholes." Dahyun nods, wraps an arm around Chaeyoung's shoulder as she turns them around, starts walking back towards the underground.

"I'm not gonna let them tear into you, by the way." She could never allow that, she always had to protect Chaeyoung, _always_. She slowly positions her arms to loop underneath Chaeyoung's shoulders, hands balled into fists, locking her in place. There's an instant stinging sensation in her back, crawling underneath her skin until it's free, refreshing her body as two enormous black and feathered wings unfurl from her shoulder blades.

Carefully, Dahyun lifts Chaeyoung into the air, no longer caring about safety once they're soaring above the treeline, Dahyun landing roughly in front of the entrance to the underground. She coaxes forth all the upper arm strength she has (which is none) and barely manages to keep Chaeyoung from scraping across the dirt as she halts her momentum. Her arms unlock themselves from Chaeyoung's shoulders and her wings fold back into the tattoos covering the width of her spine.

Her hands find themselves on her knees as she doubles over, skin irritated and bubbling from the sudden recoil of her wings, breath hard to catch. Her lungs are vibrating, stampede of buffalo running throughout her body. She'd throw up if she thought it wouldn't confuse and worry the absolute hell out of Chaeyoung.

"You're still not used to it, huh?" Chaeyoung asks as she kneels, staring into Dahyun's eyes. It gives her a little more strength and she's able to regain her posture and her stable breathing. It does catch her off guard, however, the way Chaeyoung instantly knows what's wrong, not believing it's exhaustion or something lesser.

"Don't worry about me, go check in with Tzuyu. I still have an hour left in my shift." She knows she's blowing off the girl who so endearingly is showing concern for her right now, but she wouldn't be able to deal with Chaeyoung coddling and taking care of her. Chaeyoung genuinely looks hurt, eyes narrowed and flinching backwards a bit from Dahyun's still heaving form.

"We have the job tomorrow - well, today. That's near to no sleep. You're sure you're gonna be okay?" Chaeyoung inquires, desperately trying to get an answer out of her friend who's closed off for seemingly no reason. She wants the truth and Dahyun won't offer it. She won't settle for nothing, so Dahyun grunts and allows her skin to rip and burst once again, feathers sudden and looming. Chaeyoung usually thought her wings were beautiful, flawless creations. However right now, in the light of the coming dawn, the sun sneaking over the horizon, Chaeyoung has never been more terrified.

Dahyun lunges forward, jagged in her movements, wings taking over and shooting her up from the ground, gliding her crookedly over the skyline as she keeps watch over the trees. Her back fucking _throbs_ with the itching and the burning and the goddamned _trembling_ of the feathers continuously reforming over and over and over again. She knows she blew Chaeyoung off, knows she hurt her more than she meant to. She can't bring herself to care, though, considering the aching in her bubbling skin and the following tremors and pricks in her arms. Dahyun believes she's dead as she doesn't fight the appendages carrying her along the wind flow.

_There's nothing to fight. If I want to be useful, I have to use my flight._

_If I want to remain someone, something, then I will be the raven. No matter the sleepless nights. No matter the pain._

###### 

###### 

Nayeon strolls aimlessly around the underground, sun shining through the few windows left uncovered around the back of the building. It's bright, too bright, and she soon comes to realize that there's another source of light hidden in a room off the right wing. She makes her way toward it, greeted by the image of a neon orange Sana sitting on the edge of her bed facing away from Nayeon. She slumps against the empty doorway - seeing as most rooms didn't have the privilege of having a door - and stares down at her shoes because she feels like she's intruding on something she was never meant to witness.

"You're blinding." She mumbles, gracious not to startle the fire blazing on the bed. Sana turns and Nayeon's head swivels upward, Sana staring right into Nayeon's bloodshot eyes and drawing forth everything she never could've said. She notes the tracks running down her cheeks and softens her gaze, not wanting to scare the fragility straight out of Nayeon's expression.

"Why were you crying?" She asks, voice gentle as ever, not carrying over the fierceness that her aura and skin bore with pride. Nayeon tiptoes to the bed and lays her head down into Sana's lap after she gestures for it, legs stretching across the sheets, eyes closing gratefully when Sana strokes her hands through her hair.

"I was drunk and I did some...awful, awful things. I hurt Jihyo." Sana hums, fingertips grazing Nayeon's scalp, aura calming from creamsicle orange to a faint burgundy hovering over her tan skin.

"You know the alcohol doesn't excuse that, right?" Nayeon nods, guilt passing over her features, Sana's fingers running over her jaw and neck, eliciting warmth wherever they roamed. "Apologize, then. If you feel an apology won't be enough, make a big show of it. This _is_ Jihyo we're talking about." Nayeon groans, a smile shining on Sana's face, lips pressing a fleeting kiss to Nayeon's forehead and giggling when she squirms. Nayeon can't help it, kisses make her antsy, no matter where they are on her body. Especially when they cause her forehead to light up like a Christmas tree and heat to spread across her face and through her veins.

"I hate that you're right! When did you get so wise?" Nayeon's whining at this point, eyes open now and seeking Sana's, breath catching when they meet and the darkness of Sana's eyes trips her up.

"I don't know, honestly. Maybe when I fell in love? Not sure." Now that truly shocks Nayeon, her body stiffening in Sana's grasp. (if she hadn't been paying attention to her muscles seizing, she might have noticed how her heart began to beat to a bass-like rhythm.)

"You fell in love. Wow. That must feel regular." Instantly, Sana picks up on the jealousy dripping from Nayeon's voice, the way her tone changes from bubbly to flat.

If she couldn't tell by this point how badly Nayeon wanted to be an ordinary human being, then she never would be able to. (but she can tell. she knows too much.)

"Nayeon?" Sana says, not bothering to hide her level of attentiveness that rises far above Nayeon's heightened senses. "The question, ask me. Please."

"Will you make me feel normal, Sana? Can you?" Because clearly Sana has more experience in that subject, although she's just as fucked up as Nayeon, and they both know it. It was stupid of her to ask and she regrets it a second later. Yet, Sana grins, heat pouring off her body as she moves Nayeon's head from her lap and transfers it to the bed. She skips over to the doorway before looking over her shoulder, smile beaming on her mischievous face.

"Give me half an hour. I'll figure something out!" She leaves with that, Nayeon stumped and half asleep on the bed, Sana's head still swimming with thoughts about way too many people.

She'll do whatever she can to make Nayeon feel normal. She deserves it.

_She deserves the world. Sana deserves nothing, not Nayeon, not Mina. No one. Nothing._

###### 

###### 

Hands move rapidly across the keyboard, keys clicking with the intensity of a rumbling bulldozer, eyes trained on the monitor flashing news and police reports. Tzuyu's eyes hurt from how much she's been scanning files today, but she knows other people are getting hyped and ready for the mission today, and she doesn't want to appear lazy or allow people to make remarks about her work ethic like she knows they would.

There's a tapping on her window and she glances over briefly, sighing at the source of the noise. She silently walks over to it and unlatches the locks which allows a smiling Chaeyoung to burst through the opening. Tzuyu sits back in her chair once Chaeyoung entertains herself with a nail file on the floor, honing her claws without a word. She's going over some new information about the city hall when Chaeyoung speaks up, her voice scratchy, raw maybe.

"Did you-"

"Yes, I took care of you. You're welcome, by the way." Chaeyoung shrinks impossibly further into herself because, God, she did not expect this treatment from Tzuyu. She didn't ask that much of her, did she? Maybe she overstepped her 'best friend boundaries'. Boundaries that didn't exist, at least, not that she knew of. Fuck, this is confusing.

She opens her mouth again to say _something_ , anything to Tzuyu to figure out what she did to upset her, but then Jihyo walks through the doorway and an immediate urge to leave complicates Chaeyoung's train of thought. She gets up and awkwardly slithers out the door before Jihyo can even notice her presence, flinging herself down the stairs to get impossibly further away from whatever was about to happen in that room.

Mina and Jeongyeon enter Tzuyu's work space shortly after, Mina propping herself up onto the window sill and Jeongyeon standing opposite of her against the wall. Tzuyu can't find it within herself to completely emerge out of her trance, so she closes out of a couple tabs idly and swings her chair around to face the three girls equally.

"Anything new or important we need to know for today?" Jihyo asked. She was incredibly nervous, or at least, she seemed anxious to Tzuyu, what with her wringing hands and bouncing foot. Maybe Mina and Jeongyeon didn't notice it. That, or they were purposely ignoring it, because if Jihyo wasn't confident about this job, no one was. That was a fact and a circumstance that not a single person in the underground could face.

"City hall is adamant about letting their proclomations go undisturbed-" Tzuyu starts, counting off each point of interest on her fingers, when Jeongyeon interrupts her.

"Whoa, big words, careful there." Tzuyu rolls her eyes and continues, ignoring Jeongyeon's antics and causing her to snicker.

"There's a wall of security detail, basically. Which is more than we accounted for. Also, there's the problem of interrupting the whole show without casualties on either end, but you knew that," she keeps ticking her fingers one by one, three of them held up with all the knowledge a 19 year old could manage, "the mayor is the one actually giving the 'kill all mutants' speech. Oh, and we can't get caught. Not only do they have the S.W.A.T. team covering every square inch of the place, Sentinel Services are....everywhere." Her hands expand to exaggerate "everywhere".

Jihyo would laugh if the situation weren't dire. Jeongyeon laughs quietly anyway. Mina is barely there, gazing dreamily out the window towards the sun and the clouds, ears picking up a couple words from each sentence. Not that she processes it. She pays enough attention to get through these impromptu meetings, this one not deemed important enough on account of Nayeon not being there.

Jihyo might actually explode. Mina can sense the static electricity emitting itself from her skin and she tunes back in, if only momentarily.

"Jihyo. We have Sana and Jeong, Sentinel Services is no match for them." It's a hopeful statement, one they don't all exactly know to be true, but it gives the amount of reassurance Jihyo needed.

"Yeah. Okay. Uh, Mina - check local consensus, please."

Her eyes glow blue for an instant, her head teetering around, as if she might pass out any second. It scares Jihyo for a second, but then she's back, brighter than before, her eyes returned to darkness. Mina's face splits into a smile and everyone in the room already knows the answer. Mina guarantees it with her words.

"The entirety of our residents, those I could read easily, anyway, are beyond prepared and hyper as hell." Jeongyeon smirks and jostles Jihyo, who stands a gargoyle statue in the midst of all the happiness. She blinks, content to find the company around her smiling, and a bright grin settles across her face as well.

"We're set then. In 3 hours, we aim our sights at city hall and prevent the movement of mutant genocide."


End file.
